


Cracks in the Armor

by ExploringWonders



Series: Under the City Lights [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Hurt No Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29666994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExploringWonders/pseuds/ExploringWonders
Summary: It's Mother's Day, the perfect day for Adrien to break.
Series: Under the City Lights [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2180007
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Cracks in the Armor

Adrien woke up to a beautiful morning. He looked outside his window and saw the breathtaking view of the sunrise as the bright rays stretched their arms across the city. He got out of bed and saw Plagg fast asleep, curled up on his nightstand. Adrien knew from numerous occasions in which the kwami had pressured him to skip class, that Plagg didn't exactly like school. On top of that, the two of them had been up until past midnight fighting an akuma.

With that in mind, Adrien scooped up the little cat and gently placed him on his pillow, next to an unopened box of camembert. He moved through the rest of his morning routine in silence. "Sweet dreams, Plagg," he whispered as he gently closed the door to his room.

"Good morning, Natalie!" Adrien beamed, skipping down the stairs to the atrium.

"Good morning, Adrien," Natalie recited back to him, in almost a sympathetic tone, keeping her chin low and avoiding his gaze.

"I'm ready for school," he announced, aware of the tension in the conversation. "What do I have scheduled this afternoon?"

"There's nothing on your schedule after school today," she told him with carefully chosen words as if she were avoiding a certain topic. "Your father requested I tell you that you can spend time with your friends rather than come home at your usual time."

"Okay? Thank you, Natalie!"

_ That's strange, _ he thought.  _ I always have something going on after school, or at least a photoshoot. _

The drive to school was in complete silence. Natalie gave no reminders concerning how Adrien should behave at school. She hadn't even looked at him.

His phone buzzed, and he picked it up. Nino had texted.

_ "Hey, Adrien. You alright?" _

_ That's a strange question, _ he thought.  _ Wait a minute. _ He read the text again.

_ The word "dude" didn't even show up once in that text, _ he thought.  _ Something's wrong. _

He replied,  _ "I'm great!" _

When he pressed the send button, he noticed the date in the corner. It was May 14th.

Today was Mother's Day.

The phone fell from his hand. He turned to look out the back window of the car, only to see his refuge melt into the Paris scenery.

He didn't want to go to school anymore. He didn't want to talk to people today. Today he wanted to climb back in bed, pull the covers over his head, and wait until the hours ticked by, and the next day began. But he couldn't be that lucky. The car was already pulling up in front of the school, where Nino, Alya, and Marinette were waiting for him. He fought back tears as he opened the car door, and stepped out into the sudden harsh sunlight. He tried to remain emotionless, but when his only escape from this cruel holiday slowly drove away, he knew it was hopeless. This day was cursed.

Adrien glanced at his friends, who were waiting for him to walk over so they could give him emotional charity, but that was the last thing he wanted. He wanted to go through the day, talking to no one, and pretending it was just another day. Instead, he would have to listen to everyone blabbering on about how great their mother is, and get constant reminders of the pain and heartbreak he felt when his mother left him. His friends would try to make him feel better, but how were they supposed to know that in their efforts to lift him up, they were only putting him down.

Avoiding the pity party of three, he kept his eyes forward and walked straight past his friends. He opened his locker and used the door to hide his face from the other students. He stayed there until the warning bell rang, and he went immediately to class. Just like he planned, he slipped into his seat just before the lecture began, leaving absolutely no time for him to talk to any of his classmates. Now, if he played his cards right, he wouldn't have to hear one word about this dreadful holiday for at least two hours.

o0o

As soon as the final bell rang, he quickly walked outside. He had a full, unscheduled afternoon ahead of him that he had no idea what to do with.

He overheard his friends talking. "Is he going to be okay?" Marinette asked.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," answered Nino. "It's just Mother's Day. He doesn't have a mother."

"I  _ do _ have a mother," Adrien muttered to himself.

They were standing practically right behind him, but none of them had the slightest clue that he might be hearing every word they said.

"Maybe we should invite him to go get some ice cream with us," Alya suggested.

In reaction to the comment, Adrien spun around to face them. "I  _ do _ have a mother!" he yelled. "And I  _ don't _ need your  _ charity _ !"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire student body spun around and stared straight at him. So much for not being the center of attention, he thought. His friends stared at him as if they were afraid he might pounce. They were scared of him. He began backing away, his eyes barely able to hold back the tears. Adrien needed Plagg. He needed him badly. He wanted his kwami to tell him everything was going to be okay, but, of all the days he could have left the house without Plagg, he had picked today. He truly did have the luck of a black cat.

He took off in a dead sprint towards his house. He heard his friends calling for him, but the only one on his mind was a small, black cat that he had left at home. That was where he was going. At least there, no one would mention that it was Mother's Day.

He slammed the door and went straight to his room. With a heart about to burst out of his chest, he fell onto his bed. He had yelled at his friends.  _ They were only trying to help,  _ he thought. _ So why did I yell at them? _

After a few minutes, he remembered the reason he decided to come home. "Plagg? Where are you?"

"I'm in here," the kwami answered. He was in Adrien's closet. "Did you know you have an entire stash of camembert, and you forgot to tell me about it?"

"Plagg! I was trying to keep that a secret from you! You're such a pig."

Either Plagg didn't hear him, or he wasn't paying attention to a word he said. He just kept stuffing his face with his precious camembert.

He saw a storm cloud move in through his window and listened as the rain gently pattered the glass. Adrien closed his eyes, and let the sound of the rain carry him away.

o0o

When he woke up, the rain was no longer a gentle shower. Now it pounded down on his window, drowning out the peaceful silence. It was already evening. Plagg was fast asleep inside a box of camembert.

Adrien went downstairs to find his dad. He walked through the dark, empty hallways of his house to find his father's office. His dad was on the phone.

"Yes, I'll have the designs ready by next Friday. You can start production next Sunday after I've gone over the specifics. No, not Saturday. Sunday."

When his dad got off the phone, Adrien entered the room. "Father?"

His father glanced at him, noticing his presence, before continuing work on his designs. "Yes?" he asked, not looking up.

"Um," Adrien said, unsure of exactly what he wanted to say. He thought of his mother. "What happened to-"

The phone rang. "Hold on a minute, please," his father said and answered the phone. "Hello? Yes, that's chiffon and silk. No, not cotton. No, of course not. Absolutely no polyester."

"Um, dad?"

"Just a minute, Adrien," he said, raising his voice before going back to his phone call. "I need these in every clothing store in Paris. Don't worry about advertising. I'll schedule a photoshoot for Adrien tomorrow."

The way the words left his father's mouth made Adrien feel more like an employee rather than a son. "Father?" he asked again. His dad completely ignored him as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone. "Dad?"

"Hold on a minute," his father spoke into the receiver, before covering it with his hand. "I don't know what's gotten into you, young man! I thought I taught you better than to interrupt me when I'm on the phone!"

"You didn't teach me anything," he mumbled.

"What did you say!"

"I said, maybe you should have tried to raise me yourself, instead of hiring Natalie to do it for you!" Adrien yelled, immediately regretting his words. His father stopped, his mouth open in shock.

Adrien heard a man's voice come on the other end of the phone. "Mr. Agreste? Is everything alright, sir?"

"I'll have to call you back," his father said to the man on the other end of the line. He turned around to hang up the phone, leaning on the table for the emotional support it couldn't give him. Not bothering to turn and face his son, he asked, "Is that how you really feel about me?"

"I'm sorry, father. I didn't mean to-"

"Just leave," he said. "Go to your room."

"But father, I-"

"But nothing." His father sternly announced. "Go."

Adrien stepped quietly towards the door. He gently pushed it open and walked outside in submission. He felt like slamming the door behind him, but he knew it would only make matters worse. Slamming a door isn't what a poster child would do. That was his problem. He was never allowed to be himself, not even when he was with his friends. He always had to live up to the high society brand he represented. He was the face of his father's company, whether he liked it or not.

He started towards his room but then turned around to face the front door of the mansion.

_ What would happen if I left? _ He thought.  _ Would everything just go away? _

Adrien thought about everything that had happened that day. All of the pain was slowly tearing him apart. He took one step toward the door.

_ Today, everyone got to brag about their mother, and how much their mother loves them, _ he thought.  _ But I got pity and sympathy, even from my closest friends. _

He found the second step much easier.

_ And my friends. Why did I yell at them? How could I be so cruel, so heartless? _

Now Adrien was right in front of the door to his father's office. He could hear the rain beating down on the roof.

_ And my father. He doesn't even care about how I feel. He only cares about his job, his designs. _

He then sprinted for the exit, feeling ten times lighter with every step. Adrien threw open the door and ran out into the pouring rain. He was drenched in seconds. He didn't care. He kept running into the night. He wasn't exactly Cat Noir at the moment, but that didn't stop him from climbing up onto a rooftop and jumping to the next, and the next, and the next. He looked over his shoulder, half expecting to see Ladybug following close behind. She wasn't there.

He stopped dead in his tracks. It didn't matter how free he felt, and judging by the three-mile distance he had already put between him and his house, it wouldn't matter how free he was, either. He was still alone, and that was what really upset him.

Adrien thought of all the akumas he and Ladybug had fought together. They all had something in common. No matter how frustrated or upset they were, everything turned out well for them in the end. All it took for them to be happy was one, little butterfly.

"Hawk Moth, I'm ready."

**Author's Note:**

> When I wrote this in seventh grade, I thought it was the definition of 'all that and a bag of chips.' Oh boy, was I wrong.


End file.
